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Showing posts from March, 2011

Minimum Wage Budget

Now that I have only $2000 left to pay off my credit card, I have been looking at all the things on which I would like to spend my freed-up money. The reality is that I will have to begin paying student loans soon so my dreams of a more extravagant lifestyle will have to wait a while longer :) So I have come up with a plan - which I am still tweaking - called the minimum wage budget, to help me stay organized and stay on track with my financial goals. It looks something like this: Minimum wage = $10.25 x 35 hours x 4 weeks = $1435.00 Child tax credit                                                     355.96 Child support                                                        300.00 (I am purposely leaving out the Universal Child Tax Credit in the hopes it gets scrapped for a real child care plan, when "the Harper Government" is defeated next month) That leaves me with $2090.96, which is actually not much less than what I bring home, but the intention is to ignore t

It is all about Choices (200th Post)

When I was much younger I tried to educate myself about global issues. The more negative the better. This was not always easy to do because the internet did not yet exist. I got most of my information from obscure zines, and my favourite issues were the ones about animal rights. Later on I got into food security and environmental destruction, and when I chose my majors for my Bachelor of Arts one of them was International Development, which focused on these issues. Somewhere along the way I crashed. I knew that the Western way of living was destroying the planet for everyone else, even though the media told us it was third world population that was responsible. At one time I wanted to work in the media but I quickly learned to distrust it, particularly the mainstream news. I also decided for my own sanity to ignore the booming "independent" film documentary industry that was seeking to expose the truths. I can handle only so much negative information before I start to becom

the home stretch

The light at the end of the debt tunnel is beautiful and warm. Just in time for a well-deserved thaw, I will be credit-card debt-free. With my income tax refund I paid off the line of credit. With the child tax credit I will put $200 on the credit card, bringing it down to $3000. The good news is that I was asked to house-sit for three months!! Without having to pay rent (or bills) this spring and summer I will be able to pay the debt off in full, several months before my self-imposed deadline. Then in the fall I can begin to pay my student loans. I am trying to come up with a strategy to get around the consolidation agreement that stretches out the payments over 14 years, doubling the amount borrowed. So, that is my good news. In other news I am grateful to have a little bit of savings into which I can tap to make a donation to MSF . Seriously, Karissa

Global Go Go

I have mentioned here before that in 2005 I spent two months in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I don't have any more big trips on my radar for a while. I might have to wait until my son is an adult, or maybe we will go somewhere together. In the meantime, I will have to satisfy myself with the adventures of others. Are you planning a big trip in the near future? If so, you might want to check out Tyler Tervooren's (Advanced Riskology) free e-book Instant Adventure . Seriously, Karissa

I Love This

"In November 2008, Pluto moved out of Sagittarius into Capricorn, where it will stay through January 2024. That gives us 16 years to revamp our political, economic and social institutions. This deep cleansing, exposure of corruption and falling apart of structures that do not serve the collective good is obviously in process. Do you witness becoming less reckless and getting more serious about your financial affairs? Fiscal and public responsibility are aspects of the Pluto in Capricorn purge." ~ Guru Rattana , NMBeing #179 - REALITY SHIFT 2011 Seriously, Karissa